Hermione Granger, Book 1
by Araknia the Storyspinner
Summary: Everyone knows the story from Harry's POV. What about Hermione, though? What's it like when she's not with Ron and Harry? Read to find out.


_**Hermione**__**Granger**_

_**Book**__**1**_

By: Araknia the Storyspinner

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. Sue me and you will get NOTHING!!**

**I base my story mood off of songs that I'm listening to at the moment. I'm sorry if the mood swings quickly.**

**When the story switches to **_**1**__**st**__** person**_**, it's a flashback.**

**Please remember my Muffins in your reviews (see my profile for details about said Muffins).**

**Letting you all know now, this story is going to coincide with my other HP FF, **_**Ron Weasley**_**. Every time I post a chapter of this, I will post a chapter of that one as well.**

**With all that said, I introduce you to my next Fanfic: Hermione Granger.**

_**Hermione's**__**Beginnings**_

Hermione Granger was a very studious student. She was always the top of the class, but she never knew what she wanted to do with her life. Hermione's dad was a dentist. When she was six, her birth mother died, and no one would ever tell Hermione of the cause.

When she was eight, Dr. Granger, Hermione's father, remarried to another dentist named Holly. Hermione hated Holly. For the next three years, using her immense intellect, Hermione tried to get rid of her stepmother, to no avail.

We start the story on the day before Hermione's 11th birthday.

"Hermi!! Hermi!! HERMIONE!!" Hermione's best friend Kelly ran up to her from the bus stop, shouting because Hermione had her face stuck in a book again.

"What's up?"

"What's up is your birthday tomorrow. What are we going to do?"

"I don't know. I was just thinking of a dinner with my dad. We haven't had time to spend together for the past few years. You know, ever since…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Kelly replied. She hated thinking about death, especially Hermione's mother's. Not having a mother of her own, Kelly had always thought of Hermione's mother as her own, and Hermione as a sister. She really was the only person to call Hermione "Hermi". "But did you want to do anything with your best friend?"

"Mm, not tomorrow. I'm spending my actual birthday with my dad. We're going to the museum of history!!"

"You study too much," was Kelly's response as Hermione turned the corner to her house.

That evening, Hermione went up to her room to work on her summer homework. She had been accepted into Eton for the next year, same as Kelly, and she had to work on a book report for the advanced English class she was taking. Sometimes, like tonight, she hated to work **(A/N: I know!! Gasp!!)**, but she wanted to finish the project that evening so that she wouldn't have to worry about it the next day.

There came a soft knock on her door. "Come in!!" she called, not looking up.

"Hey, pumpkin, it's me," her dad came walking in. John Granger was a strong man, six feet tall, who loved his daughter more than anything in the world. He fell to pieces when his first wife died, but he remarried to Holly when he came back to his senses.

"What's up, daddy?"

"Sweetheart, unfortunately daddy won't be able to make it to the museum tomorrow," he told her tentatively, "I have a meeting with a client."

"But… we haven't spent time together since…"

"I know, honey. I know you've been looking forward to seeing that exhibit, and I'm sorry. But, hey, you know what?" he asked her, his tone suddenly changing, "The day need not be wasted!! Why don't you ask your mom to take you?"

"Dad," Hermione answered stiffly, "my mom is dead."

John cringed. Whenever Hermione used that tone with him, it meant that she was beyond mad. She was disappointed, hurt, and raging. Even though she would look relatively calm to someone who didn't know her, Hermione knew how to scare her father. Hermione then turned her back to him, and he took that as his cue to leave.

As soon as she heard the door close, the almost-11 year old turned back to her work in a daze. Realizing that she wouldn't be able to work, not after that, she closed her book and flopped down on her bed. Unable to restrain herself, she started crying inconsolably about her missed birthday until she fell asleep.

February 12th. Hermione's birthday. It was as much of a bummer as she had predicted. Not only did she not see the exhibit, but even Holly couldn't take her. Holly said she had a conference in America to go to for the next week, and so Hermione was left home alone that day.

It wasn't as though anyone was going to _tell_ her that she would be home alone. No, when Hermione got up at 11:00 that morning, her dad had already gone to work, leaving a note saying that he would be back late that evening.

When Hermione went to see if she could find Holly, as even if she didn't like her she thought that Holly could at least take her to the museum to see the new History of Mankind exhibit that John was going to take her to, she only found a note saying that Holly had already left for the airport. Crying out in frustration at the world, she took an apple and her book outside under the tree in the backyard and sat down to read.

Hermione read for about five minutes until she heard a rustling in the branches behind her. "Hey, Hermi. Heard you come outside, and I was wondering what was wrong."

"Hey, Kelly." Kelly lived in the house directly behind Hermione's, and would usually come over to Hermione's house via the tree in Hermione's yard that hung down over her own yard.

Climbing down, Kelly sat next to her best friend and asked again, "What's wrong, Hermi?"

"My dad couldn't make it," Hermione told her, wallowing in self-pity, "and even Holly can't take me to the museum. My dad won't be home until late, so he can't even have dinner with me. I hate my birthday!!"

"Hey, come inside. We can make some grilled cheese for lunch, and just have a girl's day, okay?" Kelly just wanted Hermione to cheer up. No one should be alone on their birthday.

Hermione agreed, and the friends went inside. Kelly got the pan out, and Hermione got out the materials for grilled cheese, her favorite lunch. While the bread was frying in the pan, Hermione went to get soda while Kelly looked for some chips.

Looking in the fridge, Hermione remembered that they wouldn't have any soda at her house. Her parents being dentists, they didn't usually buy sugary foods and drinks like that. Hermione would have soda only every now and then at Kelly's house.

Turning away, a glint of red caught her eye. There, on the shelf she had just finished searching, were two cans of soda pop, the kind that they would find in Kelly's fridge. Thinking that this must be what her father considered an apology, she took the soda without question while making a mental note to forgive her father.

Hermione came back with two cans of pop to see that one side of each of the sandwiches had burnt. She quickly unstuck them and flipped them over, calling Kelly over to see what they could do about it.

"What's wrong, Hermi?"

"The sandwiches, look!!" Hermione pointed, disappointment etched on her face.

"What's wrong with them?" Kelly asked, looking at the food.

Hermione turned around. There, laying innocently in the pan, were two perfect grilled cheese sandwiches. The stove was turned off, and the pan even seemed cool. There was no explaining it.

Hermione gaped at the sandwiches, speechless, until Kelly got them onto plates along with the chips and told her to come along to the back yard.

Kelly had laid a tablecloth on the picnic bench out there, and the friends had a nice lunch. Then Kelly said she had to run because she was late for a piano lesson, and Hermione was alone once more.

Hermione spent the rest of the afternoon finishing the book report. It was dull, but the lunch was fairly good so she didn't complain. At around five that evening, however, Kelly returned with something even better than the lunch: a big birthday cake.

"Chocolate cake with butter cream icing, just the way you like it, Hermi," Kelly told her.

"Kelly, this is… I just… I don't know what to say!! Thank you!!" she exclaimed. Kelly had even put on candles. They each had a piece before Kelly had to get home for her curfew.

Thinking about this wonderful day and her wonderful friend Hermione thought, _This had to be the best birthday ever._

5


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